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[Senate Report 113-131]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 283
113th Congress  }                                           {    Report
                                 SENATE  
 1st Session    }                                           {   113-131

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                      FOREIGN AID TRANSPARENCY AND
                       ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2013

                                _______
                                

               December 20, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

         Mr. Menendez, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1271]

    The Committee on Foreign Relations, having had under 
consideration the bill S. 1271, to direct the President to 
establish guidelines for United States foreign assistance 
programs, and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon, 
with an amendment, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 
pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

  I. Purpose..........................................................1
 II. Committee Action.................................................1
III. Discussion.......................................................2
 IV. Cost Estimate....................................................4
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
 VI. Changes in Existing Law..........................................4

                               I. Purpose

    The purpose of S. 1271 is to direct the President to 
establish guidelines for United States foreign assistance 
programs.

                          II. Committee Action

    S. 1271 was introduced by Senators Rubio and Cardin on July 
10, 2013. On November 14, 2013, the committee considered S. 
1271 and ordered it reported, with amendments, by voice vote.
    The committee took the following action with regard to 
amendments:
    An amendment in the nature of a substitute was offered by 
Senators Rubio and Cardin, and was agreed to by voice vote. The 
Rubio/Cardin substitute amendment made technical changes to 
various parts of the introduced bill. The amendment also 
extended the deadlines to submit and publish information. 
Additionally, the amendment exempted the Secretary of State 
from implementing monitoring and evaluation guidelines 
established under the Act for certain security sector 
assistance to the extent that the President is taking steps as 
of the date of enactment of the Act to implement measures with 
respect to security assistance that are similar to such 
guidelines. The amendment also added requirements for 
congressional briefings if the Secretary waives the 
implementation of monitoring and evaluation guidelines for 
security sector assistance, and in the event a federal 
department or agency fails to comply with the requirements to 
submit and publish information.

                            III. Discussion

    Senators Rubio and Cardin introduced the Foreign Aid 
Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013 to update current 
efforts to monitor and evaluate United States foreign 
assistance programs by directing the President to establish a 
robust transparency and accountability framework for United 
States foreign assistance programs, and by requiring periodic 
analyses by the Comptroller General of the Administration's 
implementation of transparency and accountability standards.
    The committee considered the appropriate level of scrutiny 
necessary for United States foreign security sector assistance. 
In 2012, nearly $20 billion of $55 billion in U.S. foreign 
assistance went to security assistance programs. As introduced, 
S. 1271 authorizes the Secretary of State to exempt security 
assistance from the Act's monitoring and reporting requirements 
if such efforts are ``detrimental to the national interests of 
the United States.''
    The State Department requested amendment of the provision 
to ensure it was consistent with monitoring and evaluation 
efforts underway in accordance to Presidential Policy Directive 
23 (PPD 23) issued in April 2013. Although it was difficult to 
ascertain how the Administration's ongoing efforts compare to 
the Act's requirements, some of the policy guidelines in PPD 23 
appear to closely mirror the bill's requirements for cross-
program coordination and rigorous assessment and evaluations, 
among other things.
    The committee believes that applying substantive monitoring 
and evaluation standards to security assistance programs is 
consistent with recommendation of the General Accountability 
Office for the Departments of Defense and State to develop 
performance indicators for security assistance programs in 
certain countries, as well as with a January 2013 report by the 
State Department's International Security Advisory Board that 
called for a ``comprehensive review of all security 
assistance.''
    At the administration's request, the committee amended 
subsection 2(f) of the Act to exempt the Secretary of State 
from implementing security sector assistance programs according 
to the monitoring and evaluation guidelines established by the 
President pursuant to the Act, to the extent the administration 
is already conducting similar monitoring and evaluation 
measures at the time of enactment. The committee accompanied 
this waiver authority with a requirement for a congressional 
briefing in cases where the Secretary uses such authority. In 
the view of the committee, such a briefing should occur within 
30 days of the issuance of a waiver under subsection 2(f).
    As reported by the committee, the Act would authorize 
federal departments and agencies administering foreign 
assistance programs to use up to 5 percent of authorized 
foreign assistance funds to carry out the provisions of the 
Act. The committee urges the Secretary of State to report to 
the appropriate congressional committees within 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act: (1) the amount of funding 
required in the current and following fiscal year to fulfill 
the requirements of this Act; (2) the activities and outcomes 
the funding will support; and (3) whether any activities 
covered in the report are otherwise funded through existing 
activities or requirements. The committee also urges the 
Secretary of State to, not later than 30 days after the end of 
each fiscal year, submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees: (1) a financial report that provides for the 
preceding fiscal year: (2) the actual percentage of funding 
allocated to carry out this Act; (3) the total dollar amount of 
such funding; and (4) detailed information regarding the 
appropriations accounts from which such funding was allocated 
and the amounts of such allocations by appropriations account.
    Section 1 of S. 1271 provides the Short Title: the 
``Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013.''
    Section 2 requires the President, within 18 months of the 
enactment of the bill, to establish monitoring and evaluation 
guidelines to set measurable goals, performance metrics, and 
monitoring and evaluation plans that can be applied with 
reasonable consistency to United States foreign assistance 
programs. It outlines specific objectives that the guidelines 
must meet, including employing best practices in the monitoring 
and evaluation field, requiring a plan for the training of 
relevant staff, and the dissemination of guidelines for 
development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation 
programs and the dissemination of knowledge and lessons learned 
from such programs. Section 2 also sets a requirement for 
federal departments and agencies administering foreign 
assistance programs to implement the guidelines within 12 
months of their promulgation. Section 2 provides a waiver for 
security sector assistance programs provided the administration 
is already conducting similar monitoring and evaluation 
measures. It also requires congressional briefings regarding 
the use of the waiver. Among other things, section 2 also 
requires the GAO to report on current efforts to monitor and 
evaluate U.S. foreign assistance programs, and, three years 
after the date of enactment, biennial reports for the next ten 
years on the implementation of the guidelines.
    Section 3 requires federal departments and agencies to 
submit information on foreign aid programs under their 
administration to the Secretary of State, including country 
assistance strategies, annual budget documents, congressional 
budget justifications, obligations, expenditures, and reports 
and evaluations. It requires the Secretary of State to publish 
this information on a semi-annual basis. Among other things, 
section 3 also exempts the publication of information that 
would jeopardize the health or security of an implementing 
partner or program beneficiary or be detrimental to the 
national interests of the United States, as determined by the 
Secretary of State.
    Section 4 expresses the sense of Congress that Congress 
shall take into account the Comptroller General's reports under 
section 2(f)(2) when making decisions regarding the 
appropriation of funds for each department or agency that 
administers United States foreign assistance.
    Section 5 authorizes Federal Agencies to use up to 5 
percent of authorized funds to carry out the provisions in this 
Act.
    Section 6 defines ``appropriate congressional committees,'' 
``United States foreign assistance,'' and ``United States 
security sector assistance''.

                           IV. Cost Estimate

    In accordance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(a) of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee notes that the cost 
estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office was not 
available for inclusion in this report. The estimate will be 
printed in either a supplemental report or the Congressional 
Record when it is available.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(b) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that there is 
no regulatory impact as a result of this legislation.

                      VI. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 12 of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the committee states that no changes in 
existing legislation will be made by S. 1271.

                                  
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